Exemplary embodiments of the invention generally relate to rotary wing aircrafts, and more particularly, to a device and method for identifying and tracking consumable or perishable tools and equipment used for maintenance of a rotary wing aircraft.
Maintenance performed on an aircraft, such as a rotary wing aircraft for example, often requires a variety of tools and equipment, as well as one or more maintenance personnel. The more complex the maintenance being performed, the greater the risk is for error. An example of such an error is inadvertently leaving a tool within the aircraft after maintenance has been completed. Tools or other equipment that are left behind may create a potent safety hazard to operation of the aircraft and to its occupants. Therefore, tool control is critically important in the aerospace industry.
As a result, many organizations have started using systems having asset management software to track maintenance equipment to reduce the risk of a foreign object, such as a tool, being left behind in an aircraft. This type of software generally tracks a unique identifier affixed to each tool as the tools are scanned into and out of a storage location. These systems work well for monitoring durable tooling, such as hammers, and screwdrivers for example, having several years of service life. However, implementing these systems to track perishable or consumable tools having a short life span, such as tapes and adhesives for example, has been less effective. Some systems require that a new unique identifier be placed on the consumable tooling every time the tooling is refreshed or returned to storage. Alternatively, other systems use a generic identifier to represent the total perishable tool population. As a result, all of these methods of tracking consumable tools are subject to error and provide incomplete foreign object detection and foreign object damage control.